In Afghanistan, armed forces led by Border Police have claimed to have killed more than 20 insurgents during a clearing operation in the Zangabad villages of the Panjwa'i district of Kandahar province. A press statement issued by NATO today said that the operation allowed coalition forces to gain a foot hold into an insurgent stronghold and safe haven that had previously been unattainable in the past threeyears. The area was used as a staging area to plan and prepare for attacks in and around the greater Kandahar City area. Meanwhile, nine people were killed and ten were wounded when a school bus carrying female students hit an improvised explosive device in the Khash Rod district of Nimroz province yesterday. Eight of the nine killed were children.